DISCIPLESHIP
Biblical Patterns of Discipleship
Dr . Daniel A . Keating
If we are seeking wisdom and understanding about discipleship , we need to look first to Jesus himself . He called the Church to “ go , therefore , and make disciples of all nations ” ( Mt 28:19 ). But how do we carry out the task of making disciples ? We should begin at the beginning . And the beginning of discipleship is Jesus himself : what he said , what he did , and how he went about the task of calling together and raising disciples to work alongside him . He is our primary pattern .
We are not looking for a blueprint in the Gospels that lays down precise rules to follow . Nor are we expecting to find a recipe that tells us exactly what ingredients to add together to produce a “ disciple .” We cannot return to the first century and copy what Jesus did in a literal way . Instead , we are seeking to discover patterns of discipleship in the biblical text . How did Jesus go about calling his disciples ? What strategies did he employ to teach and form them over time ? What can we learn from the record of the Gospels about what Jesus did , so that we become better equipped to call and form disciples in our time ?
Before investigating these patterns , we need to take a step back and recognize that Jesus himself provides the primary pattern for what it means to be a disciple .
Jesus is our primary example of what a disciple should be . This may sound shocking , but it is important to recognize this . There is a striking prophetic portrait of Jesus in Isaiah — often called the third “ Servant Song ”— that shows him to be one whose ear is always open to the word of the Lord . He has “ an instructed tongue ” and speaks only what he hears : The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught , that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary . Morning by morning he wakens , he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught . The Lord God has opened my ear , and I was not rebellious . ( Is 50:4-5 )
The words that Jesus speaks are not of his own making . He is one who is taught every morning , and he speaks what he hears : “ I do nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me ” ( Jn 8:28 ). As a true disciple , Jesus is always looking to his Father in order to carry out his will . He is the true and perfect disciple who listens and sees and then does what the Father shows him to do . He constantly has the Father “ in view ” and so models for us what it means to become his disciples .
There are many ways of identifying and organizing the patterns for discipleship that we find on the pages of the Gospels . Here I have identified six patterns that display how Jesus called and formed his disciples , and I offer them as helpful guides for our common work of forming missionary disciples in the Church .
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